Containers for packaging and shipping fruit and produce, such as grapes, are well known in the art. In the past, such containers or boxes used for this purpose, and their covers, have been made of wood, since wooden containers have sufficient strength to withstand being stacked and to also withstand storage in a humid environment. Typically, the wooden covers have wooden cleats at the ends thereof for attaching the wooden covers to the wooden end panels of the boxes.
In addition, another type of shipping container used in the past was formed from slats of wooden material covered and held together with paper, as shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,905,478. However, because the bottom panel is formed of two or more separate wooden slats which are held together by paper, such a bottom panel has a tendency to bend and/or deform when subjected to the weight of the contents of the container.
Integral box components or blanks utilizing complete paperboard constructions are known, but these also have drawbacks. For example, the folding sections were formed only from wrapping paper and had no supporting paperboard sheets. Thus, the folding sections had a tendency to crease and collapse and did not have sufficient strength and rigidity. Moreover, the blanks included a bottom wall and sidewalls, but the end walls had to be provided separately, typically made of wood.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,685,610, assigned to the same assignee as this application, solved some of the foregoing problems, since the folding sections were formed of paperboard and provided increased strength and rigidity. However, the end panels consisted of wooden panels and were attached to the paperboard blank. Thus, a complete paperboard box still had not been achieved.
Broadly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved arrangement for forming a paperboard box for packaging and shipping fruit and other products, which overcomes one or more of the aforesaid drawbacks, has sufficient strength, rigidity, and stability, is recyclable, is moisture resistant, and can be stacked and nested with other similar boxes.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an integral paperboard blank and four corner posts formed of paperboard which can be assembled into a complete paperboard container, wherein the integral blank includes in one unit the bottom panel, foldable side panels, and foldable end panels, and which is ready to be assembled with four corner posts and a cover to form a complete box. The box-forming blank of the present invention may be shipped in a flat configuration, ready to be assembled, which substantially reduces shipping and storage costs for such boxes
It is a further object to form the corner posts, such that they provide for easy stacking and nesting of said boxes. When the boxes are stacked, the corner posts form continuous load-bearing columns for supporting the weight of the boxes.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a box-forming blank which, while having its various side and end panels foldable, can have the panels made as strong and rigid as desired.